Authentic Zombie Nurse Costume

Why buy a premade costume when you can make a more authentic one? I created this authentic Zombie nurse costume by first getting my hands on an authentic nurse’s dress and cap. You can find one easily online for about $30.

The next step is to completely destroy your dress and cap. I dirtified mine by pouring coffee on it, throwing it in the garden, and stepping on it repeatedly. You want to let your stains settle in by throwing your dress in the dryer for about ten minutes or so.

The first step to getting dressed is to do your makeup. My trick to realism is to buy actual foundation in a lighter shade than my face. Darken the eyes, but leave the rest of the face lighter. Make sure you blend well into your neck and collarbone. Also, false eyelashes never hurt anyone.

Now it’s time for dressings. I borrowed some from work but you can get them at the drugstore as well. You want a couple 2x2s, some 4x4s, and a bit of cling gauze. Take some fake blood (the darker the better) and apply it where you want your dressings. I did a few on the knee, one on the chest, and one on the wrist. Then apply your dressings over the fake blood and it will seep through more realistically. Do about four or five of them for fun.

It’s now time to get dressed. First apply your stockings. Now, with your fingernail or some scissors, poke a few holes, especially around your dressings. Start with small holes, then rip ’em like they’d get ripped if you were in a battle with the living. Now throw on your dress. Make sure to attack this with your scissors, too. Even hemline? Nah. All the buttons intact? I don’t think so. Play around with those scissors and the ripping technique. I find it easier to do it on your body so you can make the holes in more realistic places, and so you can make sure you don’t accidentally expose any body parts!

Now you want to apply your nurse’s cap. Practice the folding before you gunk it up, it’s actually pretty hard to do. Pin that sucker in, and put it at a slant. What zombie has a nurse’s cap that’s on perfectly straight? It should be oh-so-slightly askew. I used a wig for my costume, it makes it easier to pin the cap on!

It’s time for blood! Get yourself a spray bottle of fake blood; you can buy it that way or you can make it yourself. Either way, get to a shower and start spraying. I chose to spray this way and that, but from only one direction. I figured I had been munching on a corpse to my right, so that’s the direction I was going from. Spray your face, your hair, your whole body head to toe. Not too much, just enough so you look like you’ve been in battle.

Now comes the gross part. Take a swig of that fake blood. Yep. I said it. Grab the bottle and take a big ol’ mouthful (make sure it’s nontoxic first!). Now, while it’s in your mouth, tilt your head back and open your mouth, letting the blood run out onto your chin, your chest, etc. Don’t swallow any, you crazy zombie! Just let it drip all over yourself. Now stand in the shower and dry off for a few minutes.